DMG Newsletter for July 14th, 2017

Three Important Recommended Gigs for the Next Week!

1) HENRY KAISER - West Coast Guitar Master will come to NYC for a quick visit the weekend! On Friday, July 14th: The Plane Crash Trio w/ Henry Kaiser/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter will play at Noise Workshop - 389 Melrose Street in Brooklyn - early show

HENRY KAISER Solo Electric Guitar Performance at DMG this Saturday, July 15th at 6pm!DMG/Downtown Music Gallery is located at 13 Monroe St. on the Far East side of Chinatown! Free Admission - first come, first serve so get there early

2) MARY HALVORSON OCTET - At The Village Vanguard This Coming Week: July 18th - 23rd!!!

The Mary Halvorson Octet features: Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (alto sax), Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar), Chris Lightcap (bass) and Ches Smith (drums). Aside from John Zorn, Bill Frisell and Cecil Taylor (who hasn’t played there in many years), Village Vanguard rarely books any Downtown/Avant Garde/Experimental Jazz. Guitar great/composer/multi- bandleader gets a rare opportunity to to bring her amazing octet to the Vanguard this week - Please one on down and show your support! Ms. Halvorson’s current disc, ‘Away with You’, is one of the best releases of the past year. Reservations: www.villagevanguard.com/reservations-tickets or call: 212-255-4037

3) JOE MORRIS and PETER EVANS at the Zurcher Gallery next Wednesday, July 19th at 8pm! The Zurcher Gallery is located at 33 Bleecker Street, just east of Lafayette. Phone: 212-777-0790 - website: www.GalerieZurcher.com

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The Weekly DMG Newsletter starts off this week with DMG Faves: KING CRIMSON!!!

The Mighty KING CRIMSON are currently on Tour in the USA!

Week long King Crimson sale: If you purchase the new ‘Elements 2017’ 2 CD set this week (7/13-7/20), take $1 off. See the description below. If you also want the new EP-CD (‘Heroes’), you can $1 off of that title as well, only if you take both new Crimson titles!

KING CRIMSON - Heroes: Live In Europe 2016 (DGM KCEP 1001; USA) King Crimson performed 'Heroes' at the Admiralspalast in Berlin as a celebration, a remembrance and an homage. The concert was thirty-nine years and one month after the original sessions at the Hansa Tonstudio overlooking the Berlin Wall. This is released in the 40th Anniversary Year." - Robert Fripp. The title track sees Robert Fripp reprise the unforgettable guitar role he created for the original David Bowie studio recording in the same city in 1977, particularly poignant in the year of Bowie's death." Featuring: 1. Heroes; 2. Easy Money; 3. Starless (Edit); 4. The Hell Hounds of Krim and 5. Heroes (Radio Edit).CD-EP $9

Two Extraordinary New Double Discs from the Erstwhile Community:

KEITH ROWE / MICHAEL PISARO - 13 Thirteen (Erstwhile 085; USA) Both Keith Rowe and Michael Pisaro are guitarists, composers and sonic specialists. Both men have a number of precious discs on Erstwhile as well as labels like: Wandelweiser, New World, Potlatch and Mr. Pisaro’s own label: Gravity wave. As has been a common practice on the Erstwhile label, there is little info on this disc as far as instrumentation or any other sound sources. And why is this 2 CD set titled, “13 Thirteen”? It turns out that this disc/work is broken into 13 sections and that the duo include samples from Shostakovich's 13th String Quartet. Both players/composers brought their own scores which they improvised over. At the beginning all we can hear is a soft drone or hum and bits of guitar(s) plucked fragments. Slowly, carefully, other sonic fragments drift by, one or two at a times, the sound is mostly sparse and spacious. Moderately strummed strings start to shimmer or simmer, each sound cautiously selected. Time and space are being stretched out. Small bits of static, ringing or resonating or rubbed strings, hums or drones slowing sailing by. There were sections when I couldn’t tell the difference between the buzzing strings and the fan in my kitchen window. There is a section where it sounds like a string quartet is starting to float in while someone softly bangs a small object on the strings of a guitar while some of the strings are detuned. Learning to savor the sounds… one or tow at a time. I will try listening to the second disc later on tonight, after it cools down a bit and I can turn off the fan. At some point I couldn’t tell whether this disc had ended or not. It did, several minutes ago. Who knew…?!? I have been taking a chair yoga class every Thursday morning for the past year and I am learning how to breathe more slowly and calm down my inner flames or concerns. This activity has helped me to better appreciate the subtle side of certain discs. By the second or third time I listened to this disc, I started to hear that it is broken into sections, although it is not so easy to tell. The second disc has some of my favorite sections. The blend of slowly strummed strings, subtle static, bowed objects or strings, distant specks, soft drones, the whirring of a small fan on the guitar strings or pick-up, all carefully selected and placed on a bed of silence or space. When I was able to listen to these discs without any distractions, I was blown away by the results! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG 2 CD Set $22

GRAHAM LAMBKIN / TAKU UNAMI - The Whistler (Erstwhile 081; USA) Graham Lambkin has dozen discs (CD’s & LP’s) out the Kye and Erstwhile labels and specializes in sonic manipulation: recording select sounds or environments and then altering them in his own unique way. Taku Unami also has another dozen discs on the Hibari and Erstwhile labels and has done mostly duos with Keith Rowe, Radu Malfatti and Annette Krebs. All the original sounds were recorded together by the duo in Poughkeepsie, NY and then taken back to their respective home labs and altered in their own ways. CD 1, “Whistler Vanished in the Wind” was finished by Mr. Unami. What sounds like layers of tea kettles whistling is what starts off this disc. The whistling is slowly altered, surfaces are rubbed, objects are twisted and other sounds carefully captured and respun. One must listen closely and take their time to adjust to the ultra-subtle sonic web. It sounds as if we are listening to a small fire as it crackles, flames rising higher and then calming down to almost nothingness. The second disc, “Small Mistakes in Nature”, presents shifting layers of soundscapes: wind or water? Again, it takes some patience and the lack of distraction to hear the way things unfold and evolve. What I find most interesting is the way Lambkin and Unami are able to select normal sounds, manipulate them or just put them on display so that we listen more closely and hear things we might not notice in everyday life. There appears to be some sort of script or direction here, it just takes time to find and recognize it. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG 2 CD Set $22

BRANDON SEABROOK With MARIKA HUGHES / EIVIND OPSVIK / CHUCK BETTIS / SAM OSPOVAT / DAVE TREUT - (Die Trommel Fatale)(New Atlantis 050; USA) Featuring Brandon Seabrook on guitar & compositions, Chuck Bettis on electronics & vocal, Marika Hughes on cello, Eivind Opsvik on bass and Sam Ospovat & Dave Treut on drums. There have a number of great guitarists who have moved here in the past few years, but perhaps the one picker who is hardest to pin down is Brandon Seabrook, who also played banjo. Check out this list of collaborators who have practically nothing in common: Black Host, MOPDTK, Andrew Drury’s Content Provider, Chris Pitsiokos and Jessica Lurie. Mr. Seabrook’s own discs: solo, duo and his own Power Trio, are also unpredictable as well. Hence I had no idea what to expect from the new one. The opening track, “Clangorous Vistas” has that swell Minutemen-like fractured, tight, intense, post-punkish vibe. I dig the way Marika Hughes (from Tin Hat, Rob Reddy & Charming Hostess) cello is featured throughout “Emotional Cleavage”, providing a strong wheezing cushion while the spastic guitar, crazed vocal sounds and spirited drumming play those powerful, intricate patterns. What is most interesting here is the way that Seabrook uses the talents of each musician. On “Shamans Never R.S.V.P.”, the blend of distant operatic vocals, orchestral string(s) and minimal eerie guitar are most effective at creating a haunting terrain. Perhaps the hidden gem on this disc is the work of former DMG manager, Chuck Bettis. Often under-utilized, Mr. Bettis adds his sharp, twisted vocal sounds and laptop electronics at select moments on this disc. Ms. Hughes, Mr. Bettis and Mr. Seabrook are mostly what makes this disc so astonishing, consistently spirited and focused. And perhaps a bit scary at times as well. This is indeed my favorite CD of the week, although I still have to work my way through more than a dozen Clean Feed discs. - Jeeez, will wonders never cease!?! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG CD $12

BRAIN MARSELLA’S IMAGINARIUM With CYRO BAPTISTA / MARSHALL ALLEN / EYAL MAOZ / MEG OKURA / SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ / TIM KEIPER / et al - Chapter One: The Clocks Have Gone Mad (Marseland Music; USA) Personnel includes Brian Marsella on piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, accordion, vibes, etc., John Lee & Eyal Maoz on guitar & dobro, Shanir Blumenkranz & John Buck on basses and Cyro Baptista & Tim Keiper on percussion plus guests: Meg Okura on violin and Marshall Allen on EWI. Over the past few years, I’ve watched keyboard wizard Brian Marsella play in a variety of bands: Banquet of the Spirits, Zion80, Blivet and more recently with his own trio playing the music of John Zorn’s Book of Angels Masada series. I have also heard Mr. Marsella play solo piano of Zorn’s Bagatelles and Masada songs and he is just incredible by himself. I had no idea what type of music would be found here since I had only heard Marsella playing the music of Zorn, Baptista and Jon Madof (Zion80), so I was surprised at how diverse it is. Starting with a lovely lullaby on a shahi baaja (zither with typewriter keys) and then into a wonderful suite, called “The NewArk Trilogy”. The first part combines an enticing middle-eastern melody an unexpected Zappa-like midsection: quirky percussion and hypnotic layers of synths. It sounds as if Marsella has sampled some of Cyro’s goofy vocals and then inserted them as some sly sonic spice. The third part features a delightful children’s chorus for a short bit. What makes this disc most magical is the way the Mr. Marsella uses his various keyboards and synths, selectively and with some occasional psychedelic swirls and solos. I like the way Marsella uses guitarists John Lee (the old fusion doctor???) and Eyal Maoz on several songs, playing short streams of notes without getting a chance to overdo it at all. There is at least one song, “Lost in the Bubbles” which sounds like a Martin Denny-like exotica tribute and is well-handled. The two part “Better Watch What You Wish For” blends a middle-eastern groove with strong, complex writing for several horns, different rhythmic lines intersecting each other’s path. The second part has a kind of reggae-like groove and is most infectious. There is an overall infectious, uplifting spirit at the center if this disc. It is not abut soloing but creating a great vibe to help get through our days. I hope I get a chance to hear this band live, perfect for stoners and non-stoners alike. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG CD $14

NATHAN HUBBARD SKELETON KEY ORCHESTRA With JASON ROBINSON /KRIS TINER / JEFF KAISER /MICHAEL DESSEN / SCOTT WALTON / et al - Furiously Dreaming (Orenda 0031; USA) This is the second disc from Nathan Hubbard’s Skeleton Key Orchestra and both are 2 CD sets. A number of years ago, I had the good fortune to check a San Diego-based quintet called Cosmologic at the Guelph Jazz Fest and have been a fan ever since. I believe that the band split up when their members graduated UC in San Diego. I have followed each of their careers since each has been involved with a number of strong solo offerings. Nathan Hubbard was the drummer of Cosmologic and it seems as if he stayed in Southern California and organized an impressive 50-piece orchestra. Its members include Jason Robinson (reeds) & Michael Dessen (trombone) from Cosmologic, Jeff Kaiser (trumpeter & head of pfMentum label) plus a some members of the San Diego creative music scene like Kris Tiner, Ellen Weller, David Borgo and Andrew Pask, whose names I recognize from discs on Circumvention, Nine Winds or pfMentum. This double disc set was actually recorded over three years, from December of 2007 to December of 2010, but not released until 2016. This is a massive ensemble which includes 6 reed players, 10 brass, 3 or 4 keyboardists, 5 guitarists, 5 strings, 3 bassists, 7 percussionists, turntablist, electronics, 5 vocalists & 2 poets. Each disc of the two CD set consists of four long pieces. Commencing with “Crows on the Roof”, throttling, drum led salvo with steaming saxes and guitars. Several layers of horns, guitars and electronics criss-cross and inter-connect tightly. There are a few fascinating sections going on here: a sly soprano sax solo over a cushion of percussion, a somber spoken word section with spurts of simmering reeds and steel percussion. For those of you are concerned about having vocals here, do not fret: the chorus vocals are used like other instrumental sections and are never on top or covering any of the other musicians. Even sections that sound free or chaotic seems to have written or directed sub-sections that expand and contract, erupt and calm down. Since none of the soloists are listed, it is impossible to tell who is soloing, not that it really matters since solos are kept to a minimum. What is more interesting is the way certain written or directed subsections rise above the occasional storms below, keeping the balance between the extremes just right. There are a few short poems spoken that seem to to tell short stories or at least set the scenes. What I find most interesting is that although there are some fifty musicians & vocalists, things never get too dense and no one steps on anyone else. This disc reminds me of a great novel that cover a lot of ground. All of the scenes are somehow connected and unfold in a linear, thoughtful way. This is a a rather modest masterpiece which will take some time to fully absorb since there is so much to consider going on on several levels. As soon as the first disc was over, I had to check out the second to see now much further the Skeleton Key Orchestra could go. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG 2 CD Set $16

Back in stock:

BURNING GHOSTS [DANIEL ROSENBOOM / JAKE VOSSLER / RICHARD GIDDENS / AARON McLENDON] - Burning Ghosts (Orenda 0030; USA) Burning Ghosts are an LA-based quartet featuring Daniel Rosenboom on trumpet, Jake Vossler on guitars, Richard Giddens on basses and Aaron McLendon on drums. From the eighties onwards, L.A. had a number of labels which documented the sprawling underground scene: Nine Winds, pfMentum, Transparency and Cryptogramaphone. Only Nine Winds and pfMentum have continued, but at a slower pace. Trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, who has worked with Vinny Golia and had a couple of discs out on Nine Winds, started the Orenda label to pick up the slack and document another strong evolving scene. We have received a dozen or so promos from Orenda and everything I’ve heard so far is pretty impressive, especially a great trio called Evil Genius. The name Burning Ghosts refers to the inner flames of injustice and the outer flames which are still burning in the ghettos throughout America. The Burning Ghosts of L.A. erupted during the Watts riots in 1965 and have continued through the unfortunate beating of Rodney King in more recent times. The frontline of trumpet and electric guitar is an especially powerful blend. Commencing with “Anthem”, Rosenboom plays some solemn trumpet over the intense, raging guitar-led trio erupting underneath. “Defiance” is aptly titled since it is powerful, tight and defiant. The interplay between the trumpet and guitar is incredible, spewing out fast & furious lines in tight orbits, the entire quartet as one intense force. What makes this quartet so unique is the way Rosenboom’s trumpet draws from a more tradition sound while Mr. Vossler’s guitar blends jazz, rock and noise elements in equal measure. On “Elegy” Rosenboom’s muted trumpet is laid back and enchanting and well matched by Vossler’s laid back, skeletal guitar, the mood is somber and contemplative, hence the song’s title. “Dissent” starts out quietly and builds in intensity throughout with some inspired trumpet and guitar flurries, crisscrossing and erupting into a grand conclusion. On “Flashpoint”, guitarist Vossler gets a chance to stretch out and take a long, spectacular solo, shredding at times before calming down. There is an ancient tug-of-war going on here between the triumphant tone & playing of the Rosenboom’s great trumpet and the seething anger of the guitar led jazz/rock trio kicking up a storm underneath. Along with their cohorts in Evil Genius, Burning Ghosts show that they are one of the best bands to emerge from L.A. in years. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMGCD $14 (while our supply lasts)

Fourteen Dynamite Discs from the CLEAN FEED and SHHPUMA Empire: Certain prices have been lowered and all single Shhpuma CD’s are now $13 each

ERIC REVIS With KEN VANDERMARK / KRIS DAVIS / CHAD TAYLOR - Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed 428; Portugal) Whether frontier his own ensembles with colleagues like Orrin Evans, Nasheet Waits, Kris Davis, Andrew Cyrille, Darius Jones and Jason Moran, double bassist Eric Revis has established himself as much for his experimentations into the unknown as with mainstream jazz forms (Branford Marsalis Quartet, Betty Carter). On his newest album as a leader, "Sing Me Some Cry" (Clean Feed), he goes a long way beyond anything he's achieved before. “Sing" is the next step beyond 2013's "Parallax” (Clean Feed), his first recorded pairing with multi-reedist and MacArthur Fellow Ken Vandermark, the Chicago experimental scion. It shows Revis' astoundingly flexible range with a huge grounded sound. Vandermark returns to this session in a quartet with Kris Davis (Revis' frequent trio partner in a handful of recorded dates with drummer Andrew Cyrille), and a former Chicagoan, Chad Taylor, whom the bassist employed on his acclaimed 2014 quartet session "In Memory of Things Yet Seen." Together, they reinforce the idea that the identity of the music is relative to context and shared experience. The various points of departure sprouting from each player's unique identity fit within the same context because of a shared willingness to experiment with sound and form. Modern creative music is invariably composed of multiple sensibilities. This recording explores these qualities, confirming what has already been said about Revis’ personal aesthetic — one committed to the "stretching the jazz fabric without ripping it apart." So, in "Sing Me Some Cry" you have traditional vocabulary, free-bop and more, with a continued indifference to established aesthetic ideologies.CD $15

NATE WOOLEY With CHRIS PITSIOKOS / BRANDON LOPEZ / DRE HOCEVAR - Minimal Poetry for Aram Saroyan (Clean Feed 434; Portugal) Personnel: Nate Wooley - trumpet, Chris Pitsiokos - alto sax, Brandon Lopez - bass and Dré Hočevar - drums. We can say without exaggeration that the new project by Nate Wooley introduces in the so-called “free jazz” format a system that few times – if ever – we encountered with such a relevance for the musical results since the harmolodic process proposed by Ornette Coleman. And the always surprising trumpeter is very much aware of the ground breaking possibilities of this band with the upcoming New York musicians Chris Pitsiokos, Brandon Lopez and Dré Hocevar, and of the music recorded in “Knknighgh” (to be pronounced as “knife”), when presenting it as «a radical new take on the classic free jazz quartet tradition». So it is: you imediatly recognize the approach as free jazz, and yet, free jazz never sounded like this before. The band uses short composed materials written by Wooley and those fragmented materials are looped and pushed to the limit, triggered by any of the players in whatever order chosen in the moment. At first, the procedure seems to adapt some of the repetitive strategies of minimal music, and yet again, it doesn’t sound like minimalism, and neither it is a crossover between free jazz and minimal music. Wooley’s new system gets its references outside of music, and namely in the poetry of Aram Saroyan, «the master of the one word poem», as punk singer and writer Richard Hell calls him. Of course, both Hell and Wooley are particularly interested in the musical qualities of Saroyan’s poetry, its rhythmic fluency, its alliterations, its repetition of syllabls and inherent sounds. From it, Nate Wooley created a new kind of free jazz in which less is more and the resume of a particular melodic phrase isn’t necessarily the reintroduction of a chorus line. Prepare yourself to be marveled...CD $15

MAX JOHNSON With SUSAN ALCORN / KRIS DAVIS / MIKE PRIDE - In the West (Clean Feed 439; Portugal) Personnel: Susan Alcorn - pedal steel guitar, Kris Davis - piano, Max Johnson - double bass and Mike Pride - drums. The combination of these four individuals is what makes “In the West” a compelling testament. Drawing on a wide world of sounds, this quartet shifts through audio landscapes, twisting through the open and remarkable compositions of Johnson, finding themselves finally at a patient and powerful medley from Ennio Morricone's soundtrack to “Once Upon a Time in the West”. The journey the listener embarks on is lush and beautiful, wild and thorny, strange and uncharted, but always a treat to the ear and moving to the soul.CD $15

LAMA JOACHIM BADENHORST - Metamorphosis (Clean Feed 433; Portugal) Personnel: Joachim Badenhorst - clarinet and bass clarinet, Susana Santos Silva - trumpet, Gonçalo Almeida - double bass, keys, effects & loops and Greg Smith drums & electronics. No other title could be more certain to describe the music played by this transnational band lead by the Portuguese double bassist and composer Gonçalo Almeida and having Joachim Badenhorst (once again, like on the previous “The Elephant’s Journey”) as special guest. In fact, everything is in permanent inner mutation along the three parts of the suite-like piece “Metamorphosis”, but also the other two, “Comacina Dream” and “Dark Corner”. When you feel that the trio-turned-quartet functions in chamber jazz domain, the music goes to electro-acoustic territories. Now more than ever before (Almeida’s loops and effects are added by some keyboards work, and Greg Smith doubles his drum-kit with a laptop), and with a particular kind of approach with a dirty, full of sediments, organic use of electricity and electronics. But all the coordinates are still in balance – and balance is the key word to understand what Lama proposes us since the start. In this case, balance with what Susana Santos Silva and Badenhorst give us, exploring the combined timbres of the trumpet and the clarinet along with the tonal, acoustic, possibilities at their disposition. They became one of the most exhilarating horn frontline of the moment, and that’s an achievement in itself. Equilibrium is also to find someone with the performative capacities of Gonçalo Almeida choosing to make his partners shine.CD $15

MiND GAMeS with ANGELIKA NIESCIER / DENMAN MARONEY / JAMES ILGENFRITZ / ANDREW DRURY - Epherema Obscura (Clean Feed 432; Portugal) Personnel: Angelika Niescier - alto sax, Denman Maroney - hyperpiano, James Ilgenfritz - contrabass and Andrew Drury - percussion. Here is a quartet committed to contrast conventional and unconventional approaches to composition and improvisation. Complex time signatures and intricate notated materials coexist with spontaneous sonic explorations, both timbral and chromatic. The textures and figures are harmonically rich, full of details and with simultaneous organic effects – crude, primal, atmospheric, and dramatic. Angelika Niescier, Denman Maroney, James Ilgenfritz and Andrew Drury combine the best of two worlds: the cerebral and the sensitive, always changing roles. For instance: the piano and the drumset are played in the familiar way but also with unique approaches: Maroney with the help of objects placed on the interior strings (this way justifying the name “hyperpiano”) and Drury using his breath and found objects to produce pitch and sustained tones that aren't really percussive at all. Usually, it’s impossible to distinguish the origins of the produced sounds. Ilgenfritz’s double bass bridges the shifting colors of the rhythm / harmonic section of the band with the melodic/noise content of Niescier’s sax, sometimes positioning itself on one side, using a percussive attack, or choosing the other to reinforce the lines with some arco work. These permanent changes between the recognizable and the unexpected open the music to any eventuality and make the audition of “Ephemera Obscura” an adventure. Mind games indeed, but making the hair of your arms react before your brain acknowledges what’s happening.CD $15

ROB MAZUREK - Rome (Clean Feed 435; Portugal) Personnel: Rob Mazurek - cornet, piano, prepared piano, electronics. Personnel: Rob Mazurek cornet, piano, prepared piano and electronics. To date, celebrated Chicago musician Rob Mazurek’s solo endeavors have focused on his modular synthesizer and keyboard musings. On “Rome,” Mazurek’s sensitivity on cornet is at the fore, but we also find him using various electronics, and seated at a piano. Here the presence of the piano is expanded. He plays it conventionally, with preparation, with direct manipulation of the piano’s interior, and as a resonator for his cornet to create ethereal, otherworldly overtones. “Rome” was recorded and broadcast live for Italy’s Rai Radiotre Suite Jazz. The resulting recording captures the unique sensibilities of this master. Three decades of experimentation in creative improvisation, post-rock, noise and electronic music, and subverted world music lead Mazurek here. This refined solo recording offers listeners access to a new, distilled approach to his sound expression, which at times on this recording resembles contemporary classical music as much as any of these other disciplines. The sound, rich with raw emotion and spiritual contemplation, speaks for itself. Do not miss it.CD $15

ROOTS MAGIC - Last Kind Words (Clean Feed 437; Portugal) Personnel: Alberto Popolla - clarinet & bass clarinet, Errico De Fabritiis - alto & baritone sax, Gianfranco Tedeschi - double bass, Fabrizio Spera - drums; GUESTS: Luca Venitucci organ on tracks 1, 4, 9 piano on 6, Luca Tilli cello, and Antonio Castiello dub effects. There’s a good side in the present day global dimension and that’s called “cultural syncretism”. Roots Magic is an Italian band who's gradually building up a repertoire between Deep Blues and Creative Jazz, and this is their second effort. As in their previous release, the track list consists of personal renditions of Delta Blues classics (mostly Charlie Patton) played with an overtly exploratory attitude derived from the Free Jazz tradition, as well as a number of pieces composed by some chosen Jazz artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Julius Hemphill, Henry Threadgill, Hamiet Bluiett, including a couple of unearthed gems, "November Cotton Flower" by the great late Marion Brown and "Last Kind Words", a moving pre-war song by the obscure and legendary Geshie Wiley. This is some kind of familiar and bizarre sound creation, rooted in the essence of African-American music in its most Folkish character. Perhaps, only Non-American musicians could get the right distance to imagine something like this. Some sort of synthesized Black-influenced music based on sharp horn charts and a variety of Backbeats from Funk to Dub mutations. A whole sound world coming from the utmost respect for the originals, mixed up with good humor and subversive attitude. Needless to add that Black Music is at the very origin of every urban musical expression of today and this band shows us how and why...CD $15

PLATFORM: XAVIER CHARLES / KATRINE SCHIETT / JAN MARTIN GISMERVIK / JONAS CAMBIEN - Flux Reflex (Clean Fear 436; Portugal) Personnel: Xavier Charles - clarinet, Katrine Schiøtt - cello, Jonas Cambien - piano, casio SK1 and Jan Martin Gismervik drums. Flux Reflux is the second recorded outing of this improvising quartet, and the first one for Clean Feed. While Platform’s first album Anthropocene, was recorded right after the French clarinetist Xavier Charles joined three young musicians from Oslo to form a quartet, Flux Reflux is the result of several years of live experience. The album consists of 6 acoustic, improvised pieces, and contains no compositions in the traditional sense of the word. Yet all tracks have a clear direction, with few, well balanced musical elements packed into each piece. Parallell to Darwin’s discovery of how life can develop without intelligent design, this music organizes itself without a composer. Every piece composes itself through the individual decisions of the musicians. And in the same way, Platforms style has developed clear esthetics through the years, without intentional steering from above. This focus on collective listening is already apparent from the dreamy opening track ‘début’, and is intensified on the second track ‘Flux’, where percussive sounds on prepared piano and drums are placed along repetitive cycles of breathing sounds on cello and clarinet, creating dense polyrhythmic layers. From there, the album is all about incantative repetition and mutation of musical ideas, where each addition of elements is significant. The exuberant track ’Reflux’, contrasts with the sacral sound sculptures on ‘Interlude’, where time seems to stand still. On these meditative sheets of sound everything is slow, minimal and tightly united, in a kind of cinematic music approaching the static condition of photography. The effect is mesmerizing and strangely beautiful, in such a way that you become a listening statue. All of this acoustic details are beautifully captured by the unconventional methods of recording engineer Morten Qvenild, then mixed by Johnny Skalleberg and mastered by Christian Obermayer into a dense yet transparent sound image.CD $14

VÍTOR RUA AND THE METAPHYSICAL ANGELS - Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitars? (Clean Feed 429; Portugal) Personnel: Vítor Rua all guitars (classical Ramirez guitar, Fender Squire guitar & compositions), Hernâni Faustino - bass, Manuel Guimarães - piano, Nuno Reis - trumpet, Paulo Galão - clarinets and Luís San Payo - drums. Vítor Rua is one of the key figures of Portuguese creative music, with a career covering a multitude of idioms and styles, from rock (he was the founder of the very popular band GNR) to minimalism, concrete music, electronic music, mimetic jazz, folk, punk, thrash metal, country music, and to free improvisation (with Telectu, his duo with pianist and musicologist Jorge Lima Barreto, sometimes with contributors like Sunny Murray, Gerry Hemingway, Han Bennink, Paul Lytton, Barry Altschul, Gunter Sommer, Chris Cutler, Eddie Prevóst, Louis Sclavis, Jac Berrocal, Carlos “Zíngaro” and Elliott Sharp). Since 1987 he has focused on classical contemporary composition, either with solo, chamber and orchestral formats (and having John Tilbury, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Daniel Kientzy, Peter Rundel, Christian Brancusi, Remix Ensemble, among others, as interpreters) or messing rather humorously with the opera tradition (he has written five operas already). This new activity hasn’t made him forget his instrument of choice, the guitar, and neither did it collide much with his thinking of an ensemble as a guitar band - and that’s what explains this double album in which we find Rua covering all the music expressions he practiced over the years, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitars?”. CD1 is a solo and in CD2 the same scores are played by a group (The Metaphysical Angels, fronted by him) reuniting some top figures of the Portuguese avant-jazz and indie rock scenes. And yes, it sounds as if Vítor Rua is making account of his own life. It’s that important, that urgent, that significant.2 CD Set $18

JONAH PARZEN-JOHNSON - I Try to Remember Where I Came From (Clean Feed 430; Portugal) Personnel: Jonah Parzen-Johnson baritone sax & analog synthesizer. Chicago born, Brooklyn-based saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson performs live at The Bunker on baritone saxophone, accompanying himself on analog synthesizer, using arpeggiated and repeating structures over which he improvises lyrical work using extended techniques including circular breathing, multiphonics, and overtones to great effect. Longer blurb in DMG database.CD $14

KOKOTOB With TAIKO SAITO / NIKO MEINHOLD / TOBIAS SCHIRMER - Flying Heart (Clean Feed 431; Portugal) Personnel: Taiko Saito marimba & vibraphone, Niko Meinhold - piano and Tobias Schirmer - clarinet & bass clarinet. “Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player Taiko Saito is a contemporary classical player well established in the field of improv, joined by long-time collaborator, pianist Niko Meinhold, and here expanded with Tobias Schirmer on clarinet and bass clarinet for an album that uses solid compositional foundations for lyrical and contemplative modern music.” “If in a recent past it was a rarity, nowadays more and more classical musicians find in improvisation – and inclusively in the jazz language – an extra medium of musical creativity. That’s the case of the vibraphonist and marimba player Taiko Saito, complementing that dual frame with aspects coming from the Japanese tradition. An interpreter of the music of contemporary composer Sofia Gubaidulina who also played with marimba virtuoso Keiko Abe, David Friedman and free improv with Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Saito co-founded a duo with the German avant-jazz pianist Niko Meinhold, responding with the album “Koko” (2006) to the emblematic “Crystal Silence” (1973), by the ground- breaking vibraphone-piano duet of Gary Burton and Chick Corea. They found in that ECM record a path to explore and the result was an enlargement of the previously opened perspectives. Other incursions combining the two instruments happened meanwhile, and it was time for Saito and Meinhold to search other possibilities: the duo Koko became the trio Kokotob, adding Tobias Schirmer and his soprano and bass clarinets to the interactions. The context continues to be the one of chamber jazz and the approach is still experimental, but now a breathing quality, of Schirmer’s responsibility, is added to the vibrational character of the already known delicate and meditative – but abruptly contrasted with cutting-edge situations – musical world inhabited by Saito and Meinhold. A welcomed new episode of a work-in- progress that certainly will give us more surprises.CD $14

Plus Three from Shhpuma:

BIG BOLD BACK BONE With MARCO VON ORELLI / SHELDON SUTER / LUIS LOPES / TRAVASSOS - In Search of the Emerging Species (Shhpuma SHH 032; Portugal) Personnel: Marco von Orelli - trumpet, slide trumpet, Sheldon Suter - prepared drums, Luis Lopes - electric guitar & objects and Travassos - electronics. Depuration. This may be the best term to describe the type of approach conducted by the Swiss musicians Marco Von Orelli and Sheldon Suter and by their Portuguese partners, Luis Lopes and Travassos in the new opus of the project Big Bold Back Bone. If this one was previously characterized by the folding of multiple directions, from a chamber improvisation with a vague jazz flavor to rock distillations, or at least distillations of the electric parasites of that music genre, now what we find is the fruit of a decisive focus on the materials, of a depuration, in consequence, and that because there was a process of formal and stylistic resolution. We recognize the premises of a certain EAI (electro-acoustic improvisation) heiress of the pioneering band AMM and taken in the direction of the reductionist, near-silence tendency, meaning that the melodic phrasing and the rhythmic plane (already broken and not linear) are substituted by a minimal textural and timbral work. No conventional uses of acoustic instruments, the trumpet and the drum kit, remain in “In Search of the Emerging Species”, and if the music follows some of the formulas chosen for the guitar and the electronic devices in experimental domains, they’re both at the service of a collective, with the produced sounds mixing with all the others and, in that way, almost disappearing. It’s just one, and very long, the piece here played (“Immerge”), with an extremely slow development, suspensive even, sometimes with a cliff opening in the flow of events, not to solve what is behind, not to give it conclusion, but allowing the choice of another heading in the forest of little and exotic sounds being build. A beautiful record to listen to microscopically, dropping all the tasks of everyday life.CD $13

RAPHAEL VANOLI - Bibrax (Shhpuma SHH 031; Portugal) Raphael Vanoli on electric guitar. With the new “Bibrax”, guitarist Raphael Vanoli seems committed to subvert one of the most basic premises of our interpretation of reality, the proportional sequenciality of the relations between cause and effect. The sounds we hear are affirmative, composed, sometimes even inordinate, making us imagine a physical delivery and a gestuality with dramatic, theatrical, dimension. Wrong: the modus operandi is another thing completely. The fingers only brush the strings, percuting it very slightly, with the weight of a feather (when it’s not really a feather being used), due to the circumstance that the guitar is hiper-amplified. Everything done to it, even the most diminutive intervention, results in occurrences with huge volume and also in harmonics of intrincate complexity. Considering that the music created with this procedure is often soft and dreamy, this implies a particularly careful administration of energy, the energy applied to produce sound and the energy of the produced sound, both different and both deceitful. But that’s not all: on some of these pieces of short duration, Vanoli transforms the guitar into a... flute, by gently blowing the strings to vibrate them and explore the extreme sensitvity of the instrument. This resource has wide meanings and consequences, mutating the nature of the music itself, making it breath as any real flute music would do. Here is a recording that opens doors, discover possibilities and changes everything, destined to be a milestone of the innovations in process, in a time when it seemed that any musical plausibility was already fulfilled.CD $13

XORDOX [JG THIRWELL NOVELLER] - Neospection (Editions Mego 240; Austria) Editions Mego present the first release of a brand new project from JG Thirlwell. Recorded at Self Immolation studios in Brooklyn. This is Xordox. Xordox orbits a universe inhabited by darkness, wit, mystery adventure, and experimentation. The cinematic quality that exudes from Thirlwell's bent being presents itself in Neospection; Unlike Thirlwell's other works, this is predominantly a synthesizer record, including recording sessions from his residency at the legendary EMS studios in Stockholm, employing Buchla and Serge synthesizers. Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller) plays her super-processed soundscape guitar on three of the tracks on the album, and additional mixing took place at Lazer Sound studios with Al Carlson (who works extensively with Oneohtrix Point Never). Xordox. Diamond circulating swells; Sequenced stealth sci-fi; Malleable membrane matters; Wild fabric electronic; Heart eaten beat; Fruits of fear and exhilaration. Neospection is neon noir. Neospection is ere 4 yor. Xordox arrives as unexpected and remote as any alien encounter but security lies in the cosmic drama and dark shadows that seep throughout Thirlwell's soul. In this, 2017 the listener once again enters the mind and world of one man who refuses to play along with anyone's game but the idiosyncratic one of his own devising. Tech and engineering at EMS by Jonas Broberg and Daniel Araya; Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk; Artwork by JG Thirlwell; Space Shuttle cockpit photo by Ben Cooper; Space photos courtesy of NASA. CD version includes "Asteroid Dust".CD $15

OUMAR KONATE - Live In America (Clermont Music 017; USA) Afro-rock across America; Oumar Konaté with his power trio blasted from coast to coast on their 2014 tour. An award-winning musician and arranger at home in Mali, Oumar represents a new generation, forging his own traditions influenced by music from around the world. This African rocker blew everyone away; his concerts were on fire. The band's sound ranged from hard rock thrash to subtle acoustic ballads and the lyrics spanned blues laments about girls, rages against war and corruption, to jokes about the fast pace of a big city. Oumar and his bandmates continue to proudly live in Mali where they play weekly in Bamako clubs to packed crowds. Oumar Konaté, with his bandmates Makan Camara and Cheick Siriman Sissoko are an Afro-rock power trio of young stars. Live In America features live tracks, recorded in 2014 during their USA concert tour. Oumar opens with blazing electric guitar tracks. During the show, he cools it down to poignant lament.CD $14

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Historic & Archival Recordings:

THE ROLLING STONES - The Complete British Radio Broadcasts 1963-1965 (London Calling 5001; UK) The Rolling Stones, live on BBC Radio, 1963-1965. "In view of the past increase of interest in rhythm & blues groups in Britain, an exceptionally good future is predicted for us by many people," Brian Jones wrote to the BBC in January 1963, requesting an audition. They turned him down, but soon changed their mind. Between that autumn and the summer of 1965, the Rolling Stones recorded numerous classic radio sessions for the BBC, which are presented here, digitally remastered, together with background notes and images. Features performances on Saturday Club, Blues In Rhythm, The Joe Loss Pop Show, Big Beat '64, Top Gear, Rhythm And Blues, Big Beat '65, and Yeh! Yeh!. Containing some of the most vital British R&B ever recorded, the set is an essential purchase for serious Stones fans.2 CD Set $24

JOHN CALE & BAND - Live At Rockpalast (Made in Germany MIG 90300; Germany) "Even today, John Cale is renowned for having been a member of The Velvet Underground alongside Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison. Though less known to many fans are his early collaborations with avant-garde musicians like John Cage or La Monte Young. His solo works have always been a mixture of classical influenced avant-garde, orchestral works and dynamic, experimental rock. He has worked as a musician, producer (Nico, Patti Smith, Happy Mondays, to name a few) and arranger. His collaborations with artists such as Brian Eno, Kevin Ayers or Little Feat are legendary. When he was invited for the Rockpalast-Festival on October, 14th 1984, he had just released the desolate masterpiece Music For A New Society (1982), Caribbean Sunset (1983) and John Cale Comes Alive (1984). Compared to the official live album, John Cale's performance at the Rockpalast was far more intense, desperate and wild. He performed the songs with a very hard edge, sometimes even deconstructed them ('Heartbreak Hotel'), receiving a mixed reaction from the audience, that just has survived performances of Level 24, Huey Lewis & The News and Chalice. When John Cale appeared onstage it nearly was 3 o'clock in the morning, the atmosphere in the hall was as tense and menacing as the concert that followed. Up to this day, this performance remains one of the most spectacular concerts in the history of the Rockpalast-Series. In sharp contrast to this performance you will find a second concert at Zeche Bochum from 1983. Here you will find the more introverted John Cale: a man and his piano performing his all-time-classics, including an extremely expressive version of 'Fear Is A Man's Best Friend'. Altogether, this set perfectly represents the many facets of the John Cale in the early 80s -- it is a historic document which stands the test of time. Boxset with 2 DVDs and 2 CDs, booklet with photos and liner notes."2 CD / 2 DVD Set $24

GUY CLARK - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco 1988 (Keyhole 9077; UK) Although he was never a prolific recording artist, the legendary Guy Clark was one of the most esteemed singer-songwriters of his generation. Originally broadcast on KSAN-FM, this superb live set includes material that spans the length of his career, including several songs from his most recent album at the time, Old Friends (1988). The entire broadcast is presented here, digitally remastered, with background notes and images.CD $16

ALEX CHILTON - Baton Rouge 1985 (Klondike 5076; UK) Alex Chilton, live from VFW Hall, Baton Rouge on September 27th, 1985. When Tom Waits once described Alex Chilton as "the Thelonius Monk of the rhythm guitar", he was being very Tom Waits and simultaneously, both sincere and astute. The Box Top bad boy was influencing a new wave of bands in the early 1980s on the independent scene at home and in the UK. With shades of Syd Barrett and other Anglophile figures, Chilton's adoption of obscure blues, R&B, soul, and the American songbook provided an interesting and provocative return to form with 1985's Feudalist Tarts EP (1985). Here, Chilton's famed excesses are firmly denied, as he delivers a blistering set with all the Big Star trademarks firmly intact. Klondike presents the entire Louisiana Public Broadcast (WLPB) of Alex Chilton, live from the VFW Hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on September 27th, 1985. Professionally remastered original broadcast with interviews, background liners, and rare archival photos.CD $16

LINK WRAY - Live... My Father's Place 1979 (Klondike 5079; UK) Link Wray, live at My Father's Place, Roslyn on June 22nd, 1979. Link Wray's legacy lies in the power chord that inspired such luminaries as Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Ray Davies, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix. Ground-breaking hits ("Rumble", "Rawhide", "Jack The Ripper", and "Ace Of Spades") make a welcome return in Wray's second coming in the 1970s. Wray's incendiary distortion and unorthodox techniques gave way to the Sonics, Wailers, and The Cramps, iconic names that owe much to their idol. Wray's resurgence in the 1970s invited new listeners and made new fans across Europe and the USA where he continued to "rumble" in his unique and immaculate style. Klondike present the entire WLIR-FM broadcast of Link Wray, live from My Father's Place, Roslyn, New York on June 22nd, 1979. Professionally remastered original FM broadcast with expansive liners and rare archival photos.CD $16

LP Section:

JOE McPHEE - Seattle Symphony (Kye 947; USA) Kye is proud to present Seattle Symphony, the new LP by Poughkeepsie's Joe McPhee. 'Seattle has become my home away from home, my second city, since first being invited to join trombonist Stuart Dempster for duets in 1984. When the opportunity for a solo concert arose, I learned of the passing of Bill Dixon and Fred Anderson and decided to make the focus of the performance a celebration of the lives, and music, of these two legendary heroes, who both passed away in June of 2010, within 8 days of each other.' (Joe McPhee). Seattle Symphony arrives in a full color high gloss sleeve in an edition of 300 copies."LP $19

UNIVERS ZERO - Heresie (Sub Rosa 401; Belgium) ”Sub Rosa present a reissue of Univers Zero's second album Heresie, originally released in 1979. 2010 remixed version (Cuneiform Records). A classic of chamber rock music, featuring heavy use of dissonance and dark, brooding, and extremely complex melodies. Comes on limited edition orange and gold vinyl; Includes insert; 380 gram sleeve. "This music on this LP might have little to do with rock, and might also be a massive downer, but the quality of the writing and playing is extremely high. Michel Berckmans' solo work on oboe and bassoon work is magnificent, and Patrick Hanappier's string playing (violin and viola) also demonstrates the precision of a trained classical musician, along with demonic avant-garde scraping and howling on 'Jack The Ripper.' Best of all, Univers Zero never cheapens the effect of the music with any of the stock cartoon licks which are associated with the gothic genre today. Group members sound deadly serious about what they're doing, which might call their sanity into question, but which makes for an incredibly powerful listening experience. In fact, Heresie is a stunning one-of-a-kind item that has never been duplicated by anyone - including Univers Zero." - William Tilland, AllMusicLP $16

THE FALL - Perverted By Language (Superior Viaduct 127; USA) "The Fall returned to Rough Trade in 1983 to release a pair of singles ('The Man Whose Head Expanded' and 'Kicker Conspiracy') and Perverted By Language, their sixth proper studio album. Perverted By Language hints at the band's shift towards a distinctly pop approach, one that they would perfect via their Beggars Banquet output that immediately followed. Yet again, the force and panic of their initial Rough Trade recordings remains the foundation for much of the album. A transitional recording in the absolute best sense, Perverted By Language is The Fall both as they were and as they would become. The emergence of Brix Smith is often cited as the impetus for The Fall's move toward outward pop, and she first makes her first appearance with the band on Perverted By Language. Nowhere is her presence felt more than on 'Hotel Blöedel,' where she handles lead vocal duties alongside Mark E. Smith whose mangled violin accompaniment roots the song's cold romanticism in his unmistakable brand of strange. 'Garden' provides a new take on The Fall's stretched-out tendencies -- using ringing, clean guitars to build a nearly 10-minute epic more subtly than ever before. The opener, 'Eat Y'self Fitter,' is wholly classic Fall: a playfully circular bass line drives the album's strongest vocal spout, complete with emphatic breaks where Mark E. Smith issues the song's spiteful decree with equal parts glee and scorn. Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Perverted By Language has been available on vinyl domestically."LP $25

****** Movie Gold Restocks Sale! We have lowered the prices of all Movie Gold 2 CD Sets to $20 each. We are not sure how long we will able to get these discs back so grab them while you can. We will send out a longer list next week with some blurbs.

SALE: Take 3 or more of any Movie Gold Title and get $1 off of each one.! Here’s the list:

All Sets start at 8:30pm Tickets: $20There are no refreshments or merchandise at The Stone. Only music. All ages are welcome.Cash Only at the door. There is no phone. There is no food or beverage served or allowed just a serious listening environment.The Stone is booked purely on a curatorial basis

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The CORNELIA STREET CAFE - 212-989-931929 Cornelia St in the heart of the West Greenwich Village, NYC

I-Beam is located at 168 7th Street in Brooklyn, NY 11215 - Directions: SUBWAY: Take the F or R trains to 4th Ave & 9th Street. Walk down 4th ave to 7th street. Make a left on 7th and walk past 3rd ave. We are located on the ground floor, the grey doors to the right of the stairs of #168.